Improvement in bottle fillers and corkers



v 2 Sheet s---Sheet1'. G. H; FERRY. Brittle- Filler and Gorkar.

1 ill Eaten ted Marah 23,1875l.

UNITED sTATES PATENT OEEIcE.

GEORGE H. FERRY, on NEW YORK, N. Y}, ASSIGNOR TO JEREMIAH B. BRADFORD,0E nosron, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENTIN BOTTLE FI LLERS AND CORKERS.

Specification-forming part of Letters Patent No. 161,107, dated March23, 1875; application filed January 13, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FERRY, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented an Apparatus for Filling Bottles with Liquids,and Gorking the same, of which tomary to fill each'bottle separately bymeans of a measure and tunnel, or by a flexible spigot, one end fittinginto or snugly around the neck of the bottle, and the other endconnected with the faucet of the barrel or receptacle from which thesupply is to be drawn. In

both cases, however, the bottles are filled singly, and are afterwardremoved to an apparatus which corksthem separately, one at a time.

These methods of filling and corking are objectionable for the reasonsthat considerable waste of the liquid is occasioned, and the operationis slow and tedious.

To overcome the above-men tioned objections is the purpose of myinvention, which consists in a series of measuring-receptacles connectedwith the supply-reservoir, and provided with valves which control theirinlet and outlet passages, each receptacle being provided with acentralpassage or tunnel extending vertically through it, and eachreceptacle being of the exact capacity of the bottle to be filled, anumber of bottles corresponding to that of the receptacles being broughtup in a boxor carrier, so as to cause the neck of each bottle to fitsnugly into the bottom of its tunnel a short distance below the junctionof the outlet-passage therewith, the tunuels also serving as conductorsfor the corks, which, after the bottles' are filled, are pressed downinto their necks by the simultaneous descent of a series of 'plungers,connected together to perform the pperation of corking.

To enable others skilled in the art to under stand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents a platform, supported by uprights B.A short distance above the platform are placed a series ofcylindrical-shaped receptacles, O,'each of which is provided with atapering opening, a, passing vertically through its center and throughthe circular base b, which screws into and forms its bottom, the lowerend of the base b passing through and projecting a short distance belowthe platform, and having a hollow nut, D, screwed thereover to keep thereceptacle securely in place. From the outside of the base b of eachreceptacle, and extending in toward the center of the machine, is arectangular enlargement, 0, through which and the bottom of thereceptacle is formed a passage, 01, which communicates with the taperingopening a a short distance above its bottom, and forms the outlet of thereceptacle. Entering the top of each receptacle is a short verticalpipe, 6, the several pipes e 0 being connected by horizontal pipes E Eplaced parallel to'each other, and extending in a longitudinaldirection, and being united by a short pipe, Gr, extending transverselywith the machine.- From the center of the transverse pipe Gr rises anupright tube, H, over which is fitted one end of a hose or pipe, whichis connected with the outlet of the supply-reservoir. (Not shown.)Within each vertical pipe 0 slides a central spindle, f, surrounded atits top by a' spiral spring, is, and carrying two valves, h z, the uppervalve, h, fitting snugly up against a valve seat formed around anopening, I, with which the interior of the pipe E communicates, theopening I leading down into the receptacle 0, and forming theinletpassage, by which it is filled. To the lower end of the spindle fis secured the valve i, which fits snugly on a seat formed around thetop of the outlet-passage d, when the spindle is pressed down againstthe resistance of the spring is, by mechanism now to be described.Rising from the horizontal pipes E E, and the vertical pipes e e, atpoints in close proximity to the valve-spindles f, are upright arms m m,bent in slightly at their tops, to which are pivoted bent levers a a, ofthe form seen, the lower ends of these levers being pivoted to parallelbars I I, joined by a cross-piece, p, at their outer extremities, bywhich construction, as the bars I I are drawn in the direction of thearrow, the upper or bent ends of the levers n n are brought down uponthe caps of the spindles, which are thus depressed simultaneouslyagainst the resistance of the springs 717 k, whereby all of theinlet-passages l l to the receptacles are opened, and are so kept bysecuring the movable bars I I in this position in any convenient manner.Simultaneous with the opening of the inlet-passages ll theoutletpassages d d are closed by the descent of the spindles f carryingthe valves '5 i down upon their seats. As each receptacle is beingfilled the air within it is expelled through an open ing, q, in its top,in which is placed a triangular-shaped plug, 4", having a hollowspherical ball, K, secured to its bottom, the form of the plug beingsuch as not to fill the opening, but leaving sufficient room for the airto escape as the liquid rises. When the receptacle becomes full, thepressure of the liquid lifts the ball K till a valve, 8, on its upperside is brought against a seat of corresponding form made at and aroundthe bottom of the ventopening q, thus closing it and preventing theoverflow of the liquid from the receptacle.

The several receptacles are intended to be of exactly the same capacity,being precisely that required to fill a bottle.

I will now describe the manner of filling a number of bottlescorresponding to that of the receptacles. L is a platform provided atits corners with short sleeves t, which fit around the uprights B B,which thus serve to guide it as it is raised and lowered by winding upcords u around a shaft, M, by turning a crank, N, the upper end of eachcord being secured to the shaft, and the lower end to the platform, theshaft being provided with a ratchet-wheel, 1), into which engages a pawlfor keepingthe platform at any desired height.

The upper side of the movable platform L is provided with a pair ofparallel rails, w, upon which rest the wheels P of a rectangularcarrier, Q, in which the bottles are placed in sockets in an uprightposition. The carrier is rolled upon the rails of the platform till itcomes into contact with a stop, 8, which is carefully placed at suchpoint as will insure the proper fitting of the neck of each bottlewithin an elastic ring, as, sprung into the lower end of the taperingopening a, the top of the bottle being situated just below the outletdof the receptacle, and the ring a; serving as a packing to prevent theliquid from leaking out through the bottom of the opening a. Thecontents of the several receptacles are now allowed to flow out intotheir respective bottles, by simply releasing the parallel bars I I,

which are immediately returned to their nor-.

mal position by the upward pressure of the caps of the spindles ff uponthe upper bent extremities of the levers n it, brought about by therecoil of the spiral springs k k.

The operation of corking the bottles will now be described. R is arectangular frame provided at its corners with tubes or sleeves 9, whichsurround four posts, S, rising from the platform A, by which means itmay be made to slide up and down thereon, by turning the handle y of acrank, T, which is connected with a cross-bar, U, of the frame by apitman, V. Projecting down from the under side of the frame R, and inline with the vertical axis of the central openings at a through thereceptacles, are a number of cylindrical plungers, W, correspondingthereto.

These openings at a are, as previously stated, tapering, and, beside theoffices fulfilled by them above described, serve as tunnels orconductors for the corks used in corking the bottles. After the bottlesare filled, the corks are placed in their conductors, and the plungersbrought down upon them, forcing them gradually into the necks of thebottles, each cork in its passage down its conductor being compressedsufficiently to enable it to fit tightly, as required. The crank N isnow turned, so as to allow the sliding platform L, with the carrier Qand its bottles, to descend, when the latter are removed, and acorresponding number of empty ones are placed in position to be filledin a similar manner.

Should a bottle be accidently broken during the filling process, theliquid will flow into the carrier, from which it can be saved by pouringback into the supply-reservoir. 7

Each receptacle is provided with an openening in its side to affordaccess to its interior to cleanse it, if desired.- The capacity of oneor more of the receptacles may be reduced to conform to the contents ofsmaller bottles, by introducing through the top of the receptacle avertical tube closed at its bottom This tube being lowered or raisedtherein to different heights, so as to occupy more or less of its area.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I am enabled to perform in oneand the same apparatus the three following operations, viz: First, theaccurate measurement of the liquid for any capacity of bottle beforefilling it second, the filling of a number of bottles at once; andthird, corkin g them simultaneously, whereby the waste, inconvenience,and delay incident to the methods heretofore practiced, are avoided.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. A series of measuring-receptacles, O O, of predetermined capacity,connected with the supply-tank, and provided with inlet and outletpassages l d, controlled by valves, in combination with plungers W W,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A series of plungers, W W, acting sim ultaneously in combination witha correspond- 5. The spindles f f, with their springs k k, pnd Valves hi, operated by the levers n n,connected with the movable bars I I as andfor the purpose set forth.

Witness my hand this 8th day of January, A. D. 1875.

GEORGE H. FERRY.

In presence of- N. W. STEARNS, W. J. CAMBRIDGE.

